Cole notched an assist, two shots on goal, two hits and five blocked shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.
Cole snapped a 10-game point drought with the helper. The 35-year-old defenseman has seen big minutes lately, topping the 20-minute mark in 11 straight games as Utah continues to weather terrible injury luck on defense. The physical blueliner is up to eight points, 32 shots on net, 33 PIM, 38 hits, 83 blocked shots and a minus-2 rating over 29 appearances.
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Hockey Club's Michael Kesselring: Produces assist Thursday
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Kesselring logged an assist, three shots on goal and two blocked shots in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.
Kesselring has four points over his last six contests. The 24-year-old set up the first of Dylan Guenther's two tallies in Thursday's win. Kesselring is up to 15 points, 52 shots on net, 37 hits, 25 blocked shots, 24 PIM and a plus-10 rating through 29 outings. With injuries piled high on Utah's blue line, Kesselring should continue to log steady top-four minutes and see power-play time.
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Hockey Club's Lawson Crouse: Assists in consecutive games
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Crouse logged an assist and blocked three shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.
Crouse has a helper in each of the last two games. This is just the second time he's gotten on the scoresheet in consecutive contests, the first time being the first two games of the year. The winger has mustered a poor seven points with 46 shots on net, 52 hits, 21 blocked shots, 20 PIM and a minus-1 rating over 29 outings. With limited scoring upside this year, he is likely to remain in a third-line role.
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Hockey Club's Nick Schmaltz: Generates power-play helper
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Schmaltz logged a power-play assist in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.
Schmaltz had gone six games without an assist, but thankfully, he scored his first four goals of the year in that span. The 28-year-old got back to his playmaking ways by setting up Dylan Guenther's second tally in this contest. Schmaltz is up to 22 points (six on the power play), 64 shots on net, 15 blocked shots and a minus-5 rating over 29 outings this season, playing mainly on Utah's top line.
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Hockey Club's Logan Cooley: Dishes pair of assists
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Cooley notched two assists, three hits and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.
Cooley helped out on second-period tallies by Vladislav Kolyachonok and Dylan Guenther, with the latter's goal coming on the power play. Over the last 10 games, Cooley has four goals and eight assists, with four multi-point efforts and just two zero-point outings in that span. The second-year center is up to seven goals, 17 helpers, 58 shots on net, 23 hits and a plus-11 rating over 29 contests in 2024-25, serving in a second-line role to great success.
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Hockey Club's Vladislav Kolyachonok: Tallies game-winner
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Kolyachonok scored the game-winning goal and fired two shots on net in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.
With Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) facing a significant absence, Kolyachonok may finally get a look in Utah's lineup. He played just 9:47 in Thursday's contest, but his tally at 8:05 of the second period stood as the game-winner. He's played in just three of the last 18 games, and that's been exclusively in a limited third-pairing role. For the season, he's at a career-high five points with seven shots on net, nine hits, nine blocked shots and a minus-5 rating over 14 appearances.
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Hockey Club's Kevin Stenlund: Keeps rolling with empty-netter
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Stenlund scored an empty-net goal on three shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.
This was Stenlund's fourth straight game with a goal, which followed a stretch of 22 contests without one. The 28-year-old center is up to five tallies, eight points, 40 shots on net, 22 hits, 20 blocked shots and a minus-4 rating through 29 outings. Stenlund will eventually cool off, but he may be worth a look as a streaming or DFS option for Saturday's game against the Sharks given his recent success.
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Hockey Club's Dylan Guenther: Starring role in win
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Guenther scored twice on three shots, dished an assist, added four PIM and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.
Guenther ended his six-game goal drought in the first period and added a power-play tally in the second for good measure. He has gotten on the scoresheet in eight of the last 10 contests, racking up five goals and nine assists in that span. For the season, the breakout star has 12 tallies, 16 helpers, 13 power-play points, 68 shots on net, 18 PIM and a plus-11 rating over 29 appearances in a top-six role.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Strong in win
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Vejmelka allowed a goal on 24 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.
Vejmelka bounced back from a rough shootout loss, keeping the Avalanche off the board until late in the third period in this contest. He's won two of his last three outings, and he's given up a modest nine goals over four starts in December. Vejmelka is up to 5-7-2 with a 2.36 GAA and a .917 save percentage over 16 appearances. Utah's next game is Saturday in San Jose.
Vejmelka is expected to start on the road against Colorado on Thursday, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports.
Vejmelka stopped 34 of 38 shots in a 5-4 shootout loss to Minnesota on Tuesday. He has a 4-7-2 record, 2.45 GAA and .915 save percentage in 15 appearances in 2024-25. Colorado ranks ninth in goals per game with 3.33, and the Avalanche are red hot, having won four of their past five games, so this is a difficult assignment for the 28-year-old netminder.
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Hockey Club's Robert Bortuzzo: Out for foreseeable future
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Bortuzzo (lower body) "will miss quite a bit of time," Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune reports Thursday.
Coach Andre Tourigny said that Bortuzzo, who was injured Tuesday against the Wild, will not accompany the team on its two-game road trip and is out indefinitely. The 35-year-old veteran has only two assists in 15 contests this season. Dakota Mermis was recalled from AHL Tucson on Thursday to replace Bortuzzo on the roster.
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Hockey Club's Dakota Mermis: Claimed off waivers
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Mermis was claimed off waivers by Utah from Toronto on Thursday, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Mermis didn't end up playing for the Maple Leafs before he was waived. He'll have a better opportunity in Utah, which has a thin blue line due to injuries. Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) was hurt Tuesday, joining defensemen Sean Durzi (shoulder), Maveric Lamoureux (upper body) and John Marino (back) on the shelf.
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Hockey Club's Robert Bortuzzo: Listed as day-to-day
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Utah announced Thursday that Bortuzzo (lower body) is considered day-to-day.
Bortuzzo sustained his lower-body injury during Tuesday's game against the Wild, but his designation as day-to-day is somewhat encouraging since head coach Andre Tourigny said after the game that the injury "doesn't look good." Bortuzzo will be sidelined against Colorado on Thursday, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him also miss Saturday's matchup in San Jose.
Hockey Club's Kevin Connauton: Called up Wednesday
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Connauton was called up from AHL Tucson on Wednesday.
Connauton was called up to cover for the absence of Robert Bortuzzo (lower body), who is likely to miss time after getting hurt Tuesday versus the Wild. Connauton may not draw into the lineup -- Vladislav Kolyachonok will likely get the first chance to replace Bortuzzo.
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Hockey Club's Olli Maatta: Bags apple in shootout loss
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Maatta notched an assist, four shots on goal and two blocked shots in Tuesday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Wild.
Maatta continues to get more involved on offense -- this was his fourth assist over the last six games. He's been playing on the top pairing during this improved stretch of offense, and his minutes will likely remain high after Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) exited Tuesday's game and is likely to miss time. Maatta has four assists, 17 shots on net, 49 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating over 25 contests between Utah and Detroit this year.
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Hockey Club's Michael Carcone: Provides helper Tuesday
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Carcone notched an assist in Tuesday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Wild.
Carcone has two goals and two assists over his last five outings, including a point in each of the last three games. The 28-year-old's success has come alongside improved offense from linemate Kevin Stenlund. Carcone probably won't sustain his recent output, but it should be enough to keep him in the lineup. The forward has six points, 36 shots on net, 19 PIM and a plus-1 rating through 18 contests.
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Hockey Club's Lawson Crouse: Pockets helper in shootout loss
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Crouse notched an assist in Tuesday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Wild.
Crouse ended a four-game point drought with the helper. The winger has a goal and an assist over his last six games, but he hasn't been a steady contributor on offense for much of the season. Overall, Crouse has six points, 46 shots on net, 51 hits, 20 PIM, 18 blocked shots and a minus-2 rating. Until he finds more consistency, he'll likely be limited to bottom-six minutes.
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Hockey Club's Mikhail Sergachev: Two power-play assists Tuesday
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Sergachev logged two power-play assists in Tuesday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Wild.
Sergachev and Dylan Guenther each helped out on Clayton Keller's pair of third-period tallies. The 26-year-old Sergachev has been dialed in with three goals and five assists over his last nine outings, though this was his first multi-point effort since Oct. 30. The defenseman is up to seven goals, 13 helpers, seven power-play points, 46 shots on net, 49 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating through 28 appearances in a top-pairing role.
